Last Day of the 1rst War
by Tentrees
Summary: Things don't go well for Malfoy in his business dealings.


**Chapter One**

**Investments**

**By Howard Howe**

_**The Final Day of the First War**_

The figure behind the desk looked at the messenger and clamped down on the desire to flash cook and throw the insolent human to the dragons in the bottom of the goblin bank next door. The goblins never asked were fresh meat for the massive beasts came from. But the insufferable human's next worlds boiled the last of his control away.

"Well _half-breed_? What can I tell the Dark Lord is your answer? The sixty percent share of the gross on your receipts is only *reasonable* for letting you…continue to do business in the Wizarding world," snarled the unmasked Death Eater. Malfoy was confident in his position and his arrogance had blinded him to the real danger he was in. The slight smoke rising from the cowl was not all from the water pipe next to James Drakes' desk.

'_Time too send the pale skinned wizard and his two hulking brute's home with their tale between their legs,'_ thought James. He couldn't and wouldn't allow a human to cower him! And he needed to send a message to Tommy and the rest of his hapless lack-wits that two can play at the game of threats and they needed to know just how rough he would be willing to play. Best to put them off kilter first as one of his hands moved below the desks top.

Malfoy was becoming inpatient. The witless simpleton should have been afraid of the Master yet there was nothing of it in his manner or speech. Only more smoke puffed up from his water pipe. Greatly annoying the elder Malfoy. Then the half-beast began to speak. "If I acceded to these demands, I would soon be out of business, and the goblins would get the property as they hold the notes." James took a deep drag on his hookah. Malfoy started at this as he had not expected Gringotts to be involved, his Ministry contacts had sworn that James Drake owned his properties free and clear. Now their were notes? Before Malfoy could ask another question James continued speaking. "There would be no profit to Tommy at all. So my answer to your master is….that I will peel him like a *zartwa fruit* if he dares to be so forward with me again. Tell him this as you die at his feet Malfoy." A tube like device was suddenly pointed across the desk at Malfoy in Drakes lower set of hands and Malfoy began to dodge the unknown device even as his wand came up and his shield formed.

BOOM!-_clacka-_BOOM _– clacka-_ BOOM_ clacka-_ BOOM

Normally a single shotgun blast would have been useless against Malfoy's shields but for the white glowing shower of silica dust in the cloud of iron and silver needles, rock salt and wooden slivers. When it crossed Malfoy's shield the perfect structure of the silica dust flashed a blinding green and the raw kinetic energy of the back blast from the silica converting to plasma was strong enough to pick Malfoy up and project him through the glass wall behind him, across the warehouse and through the second story glass wall and toward the enclave's outer wall. James' robes blasted back around him but he did not move in the face of the blast. Malfoy's emergency portkey must have activated because he disappeared before he could hit the wall of the enclave. Another similar blast sounded before Malfoy hit the office wall.

Neither of Malfoy's two henchmen had been prepared to fight. Arrogance in their so called human superiority and their magic supposed James to himself. The blasts had thrown Goyle Sr. against a wall and he hadn't had a shield up, perforated by shot and spikes he smashed against the wall of Drakes office. Lastrange dodge the first blast but was sent spinning when the second caught one hip and leg and shattered his shield sending him spinning across a guest couch where his leg gave a sickening crack and he screamed again. Both activated portkeys before their wounds dragged them into unconsciousness.

In the office James thought quickly and began snapping orders to his assistants and spells with his upper arms, while his lower hands found shells from his desk and reloaded the twelve gauge street-sweeper. He ignored the smoldering desk top, scattered and burning papers and the tears in his blue under robe. James mind overrode the slight scratch along one arm as his healing took over. Things needed to be done. He had foreseen and prepared for this, he now faced two enemies. The Ministry could never let a half-breed such as himself ever best a wizard let alone kill them as he had attempted to do. Let alone a well connected wizard like Malfoy, better to be beyond their reach when they received word.

And Voldemort was sure to retaliate, directly or through his puppets. He was just surprised the Aurors Voldemort had suborned hadn't been standing buy to raid him.

The first step had to be the money though. He could not trust an owl with this and his cell phone was useless, that meant a trip to Gringotts in the Enclave. James grimaced and his skin crawled in anticipation. The magic beyond the barriers was so ever-present it made him nauseous. The goblins though managed to shield their magicks and their bank from the rest of the Enclave.

Pity the same could not be said for the rest of the enclaves residents.

After snapping a string of orders to the score of clerks in his front office he donned his voluminous red and silver hooded over cape and then strode out the side of the loading dock that lead into Diagon Alley. In the office behind him clerks placed the last of the shrunken files and equipment into large chests that never seemed to fill.

Striding left away from his more normal meeting places in Knockturn Alley he strode into the sun lit portions of the Alley and made his way directly to the bank. At the door he asked too speak privately with Bloodfang, the duty manager and very senior clerk. A few minutes later he was sitting in the back office sipping tea when the goblins gravelly voice spoke from besides him.

"Mr. Drake… did you shoot Malfoy?" Said the Goblin as he took a seat and the cup of tea handed to him by an assistant. James smirked inwardly but did not ask how Bloodfang knew of the altercation.

"Yes, those shells you pointed out to me did quite well on his shields. As advertised. Thank you for that tip about where to get them." James said pleasantly.

"Good. Very good. It is always wise for those of us that may face the wizards to be… able to surprise them as it where. I take it you will be moving your primary business address. Mr. Drake?" Unsaid was the threat of the Ministry to Drake because of his actions. Also unsaid was the details themselves which he and Bloodfang had worked out weeks before.

"Yes… as we planned," Bloodfang nodded to an assistant who went to the door to speak a few phrases to another goblin outside the office, "I will also be selling my interests in the enclaves here in England and transferring the profits and my primary accounts to the agreed sites. The current crop of fools running… well no need to tell you. You have had your own run-ins with Voldemort's tools in the English Ministry of late. It will be several decades before they will be able to fix the situation and I don't want to be here if the rumors of the Crown becoming impatient is true and they… become displeased or worse."

"For sure. A situation I hope the wizards are able to correct the many problems they have before the Crown reacts so… harshly," The Goblin and half-what-ever sipped their tea for several minutes and nibbled a few meat pies and honey cakes. "I hope if you don't mind that I must make some profit for the bank."

"And your most… whimsical… principle owners..." Said Drake softly. Letting the Goblin see the next card played in their little game of power and knowledge.

"Ahh. You are aware then," said Bloodfang with a crooked toothless smile, mentally cutting half of the transfer fee's he would have charged otherwise for moving so much money out of the enclaves, "of his and *her* continued interests in the Bank."

"Of course, remember I was here that day when *she* walked up and handed your teller the crystal. I know who to complain too… of excessive zeal? Shall we say?" Drake replied letting him know that there would be ample profit, along as no one tried to skin him alive. The small trail of smoke curling up from his hood was another subtle warning. Bloodfang laughed like a small slide of gravel. Enjoying Drakes veiled threat-word play, something he would miss when the half-what-ever had to leave. Not to mention a wicked game of Multi-dimension war chess. "Beside I have a plan for both of us that with certain parties could bring us much profit. Out of the reach of the British Ministry… would that interest you?"

"Tell me more Mr. Drake," said Bloodfang his smile genuine. The smell of profit in the air had tripled.

"The Hyperion project in LA."

Bloodfang frowned darkly at Drakes single phrase. There where loose lips in the bank. "Who told you of this… project?"

"The flow of the food deliveries old friend," Telling only a partial truth. One of his half-brothers owned a slaughter yard near the site. The goblins looking the site over had bought their meals from him because he was a wizard and would not talk about the magical world. They didn't know he also spoke gobbdlygook or that he had made a report to their Nest-mother about their observations of the river etched caves under the structure, or their desire to connect it to the hotels elevator. After all family must look after family and following the money always paid off in the end. "That and the owner of the property has expressed a desire to move back too LA from Sunnydale to one of my half-brothers in the cartage trade. The Vampire Angelus has had the title for some decades… a mater of several hands of cards I believe. But he lacks the money to fully renovate and likes his comforts."

Bloodfang slowly smiled. "What is your part in this… an introduction in place of our usual fee?"

"Partially, I would like to roll the profits from the sale of my holdings, at least a third of it at any rate, into the Hotel's renovation and buying the block behind it. There is no central market for magically inclined beings in LA, yes there are many small properties folded away but all have space issues and are nervous about the lack of depth in the defenses. The properties behind the Hyperion could be melded into an Arcade and central square, both above and below ground, which could be neutral and safe. Something like… a Spanish flavored version of the Alley out there without the taint of the enclave walls."

"Who would run this… Arcade?"

"You of course would decide who should run the Arcades affairs yourself…for the hotel. I have a cousin who has expressed a desire to leave England of late and she has been Tom's assistant at the leaky Cauldron for some time. No chance of a promotion there but she has learned the trade."

"Yes, a most able and well connected young witch is Miss Perks." That her brother was the Canadian Deputy Ambassador to the Court of St. James was of great interest to Bloodfang. The wizards might ignore the rest of the humans but the goblins could not be that blind and watched both. That and the gentlemen had married a Parkinson squib two decades ago. The same Parkinson Trades who would most likely be buying out Drake Holdings. Drake was killing many birds with this deal, spreading much bread upon the water, thought Bloodfang and hid his smile at the gamble being made.

"Yes, that is my impression also. She could run the Hotel for Angelus and see to it that the customers coming through it into the Arcade are… of the proper crowd as it were. And we all could screen its clientele and shop owners… for a first, I hear Lorne is thinking of moving Caritas," Bloodfang looked up sharply at the mention of one of the largest neutral demon bars on the west cost of North America, "the Wolf, Ram and Hart has a customer who is sniffing around the property he is in. It makes him… uncomfortable." Drake removed a large leather wrapped package for Bloodfang from a pocket and with a wave of his hand enlarged the card sized package to folio sized. The old goblin was openly smiling his toothless smile at the Hamner and Duffer seal on the wax. They never let a proposal go without looking at all the angles. The prospectus and all the legal paper work for the deal would be in order but would still need to be confirmed and they just had to convince the other parties to go along with the plan.

Not that they wouldn't check it out line by line, this was after all Gringotts.

Bloodfang broke the seals and rang a small hand bell. An assistant walked in and after a spat of goblin tongue from Bloodfang he left to call several others in. Bloodfang and James sipped more tea and spoke of inconsequential things. When the seven goblins returned to Bloodfang each received a section of the prospectus. For several minutes they looked at the papers and began making their own notes. Talking amongst each other. Half an hour later and several cups of tea and a score of scones each nodded too their boss and Bloodfang smiled his toothless smile again.

"It will take us some time to look over the details of this proposal… let us speak of this again in our offices in Boston in say… three weeks?"

"Six would be better," Bloodfang nodded, and Jimmy sighed inwardly, time was a tool for everyone. Most used theirs without profit. He would not waste his. "Now if I could use your entrance to the Muggle drain system, I have a transport waiting near here." His ears had heard the rising argument coming from the door guards through the crystal he had dropped at the feet and what could only be ministry wizards.

"In Boston then." Said Bloodfang. Rising too shake the four fingered clawed and scaled hand that came from Drakes robes.

"Yes, Boston."

Bloodfang's assistant guided Drake through a side door and down a hidden flight of stairs. Bloodfang stood and spat an order in Goblin tongue.

"He was never here and only our Lord or the Directors in Council will see these papers."

The Rest of the goblins bowed and quickly secured the papers before leaving the office. Bloodfang closed and warded his hidden records vault and went to confound and slow the wizards in his lobby.

6


End file.
